A battle between New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Irving Picard, the trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, is coming to a head. On Monday, lawyers for the two sides traded barbs in court over a $410 million settlement between Schneiderman and Ezra Merkin, a money manager accused of “recklessly” feeding $2.4 billion of client money to Madoff. Picard is trying to block the settlement, claiming Madoff customers have first crack at Merkin’s assets. David Ellenhorn, senior counsel at the attorney general’s office, said Picard threatened to sue in 2009 over the state’s claims against Merkin but never took action. More on Reuters here.
